Andreas Engel - BizDev & Program Management
Because iCan!
andreasengel.com
Thursday, February 14, 2008
  Handling Open Web Application Security
As the market dynamics change digital business is quickly becoming the method of choice for any enterprise to offer products and services on-demand to their market applying next-generation information infrastructures with AJAX as an ideal partner to complement modern SOA architectures.

But moving applications to the Web also brings up a lot of questions how to deal with security issues. The OWASP is an open project and a community to help make informed decisions about Web application security risks. In 2007 the most serious web application vulnerabilities (as PDF) were:
  1. Cross Site Scripting (XSS)
  2. Injection Flaws
  3. Malicious File Execution
  4. Insecure Direct Object Reference
  5. Cross Site Request Forgery (CSRF)
  6. Information Leakage and Improper Error Handling
  7. Broken Authentication and Session Management
  8. Insecure Cryptographic Storage
  9. Insecure Communications
  10. Failure to Restrict URL Access
For the most prevalent Web application frameworks and especially for open source development, where open source software became the most prominent face of open source the OWASP project represents an excellent ressource to stay informed and make decisions about application security.

The project also provides a comprehensive guide to build secure Web applications and Web services and many recommendations also for projectmanagers, application owners and of course C-level executives.

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Wednesday, February 21, 2007
  Into the Air with AJAX

Blue Angels (US Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron)

From Wikipedia:
'This aerobatic team is split into "the Diamond" (Blue Angels 1 through 4) and the Opposing Solos (Blue Angels 5 and 6). Most of their displays alternate between maneuvers performed by the Diamond and those performed by the Solos'.

Check out the new Google AJAX Search API Wizards, they are easy to integrate and a fast way to search several google videos, maps, news and books and allow mash ups and a better participation in current communications.

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Thursday, January 25, 2007
  Custom Search Module for AJAX Libraries and Toolkits
Having a passion for AJAX I did a bit of research on AJAX libraries and toolkits mostly based on free OpenSource technology and updated my Custom AJAX Search Engine to extract information quickly with precision.

AJAX is based on open standards like JavaScript, HTML, CSS, DOM and DOM Events, XMLHttpRequest, XML and SVG, highly available in most modern Web-browsers and compatible with existing Web development technologies allowing a smooth transition to next generation Web-Apps with a strong ROI.

Currently it searches more than 30 top libraries and toolkits:

Libraries:
ActiveWidgets
Aflax
Amberjack
Reflection.js
Yahoo UI
Dojo
MochiKit.Animator
Lightbox 2
Jquery
JKL.ParseXMLparse remote XML file into JavaScript object (JSON)
Liquidx
Mapstraction
Mochikit
Openlayers
Openrecord
Openrico
Osflash
Prototype
Rialto
RobGonda
Script.aculo.us
Tacos
Technicalpursuit
Trimpath
Xajax
Toolkits
Aptana
Backbase
Bindows
G Webtoolkit
ATF
RAP
Activemq
XAP
Nexaweb
OpenJakob
Openlaszlo
Opensymphony
Taconite
Tibco
Zapatec
Zimbra
ZK1

Developing rich user experiences with RIA technologies such as AJAX makes Web-based applications response quickly and intuitive like a typical desktop application. Instead reloading a page after the old click-wait-refresh model the AJAX application stays on a page continuously while the AJAX engine handles data exchange with the server.

Building the case, AJAX Web-applications provide enormous advantages compared to conventional Web-applications, they avoid slow response times and scrolling after the page has reloaded thus improve end-user productivity, lower bandwidth consumption and costs by partial page updates and reduce the time to wait for the next page.

Applied to eCommerce systems AJAX even increases revenues making new applications easy and intuitive reducing the amount of friction for end-users.

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Monday, December 04, 2006
  Web 2.0 Aftermath
As costs of Web server hardware and Internet bandwidth continue to drop setting-up database-backed websites using advanced toolkits such as innovative Ruby on Rails and AJAX interfaces has become a lot easier than a few years ago.

An active creator today can enhance brand visibility and credibility, achieve customer intimacy or just simplify the process to find the latest information about new products and services allowing visitors to subscribe to blogs via RSS and be notified when posting something new.

Characteristics of today's Web 2.0 architecture allow better communications and data exchange resulting in improved social networking technologies, service orientation and cinematic user interfaces based on AJAX and Flash complementing modern SOA's.

Most websites have just started or do not yet apply Web 2.0 characteristics, but many people talk already about what's after Web 2.0. It's pure speculation, but I think that future disruptive services will leverage further human intelligence applying technologies such as the Semantic Web and FOAF which will enrich today's Web technologies but also raise privacy concerns.

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Monday, November 27, 2006
  Trendy: Mobility and Cross-Platform Capabilities in 2007
Anytime, anywhere access to any multimedia services is in progress and addresses current trends in the telecommunications sector. Today's cellphones converge more and more into hybrids combining voice-centric and data-centric services. IP and IP-based products and services with a focus on new user-centric broadband services transform already and will continue to transform information and communications products and services within the fastest moving market in the world today.

An intense competition, exploding multimedia content, new devices and IP based networks make it neccessary to create seamless services that meet the needs of targeted customer segments.

Superior and clever presentation layers in terms of quality, cross-platform capabilities, video, audio, probably also offline storage(AMASS) will be a requirement to leverage these trends.

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Saturday, November 25, 2006
  Creating Customized Applications via Mash Ups
In these days it's trendy to collaborate, share data and information over the Web. It seems to me like the Web has quickly morphed into a giant global operating system which allows to remix the Web via mash ups.

Over a period of nearly two years I posted more than 200 entries on my personal blog. The increasing amount of posts made it necessary to apply new ways to look up existing entries and to extract information quickly with precision.

Applying the state of the art Google AJAX Search API this combination of Web-based applications across different sources offers a useful, cheap and easy way to create a customized application solving this issue.

I found it easy to integrate and a fast way to search several blog posts without leaving the site and the quality of search results for my blog improved a lot applying the GblogSearch module. Reason enough to give the search box a prominent place on top of the page now.

Extracting information quickly with precision inspired me recently to create two customized search modules featuring AJAX and Video. I'm thinking already about leveraging a mash up including groupware and collaboration, information management, knowledge management, content management, work flows, multi channel facilities and single sign on. Mash ups put more power in the hands of end users.

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Thursday, October 26, 2006
  Back in Black: CSS Rounded Corners
New applications let users combine data and functionality from a variety of sources into a custom environment blurring the line between software and the Internet using an architecture of participation. AJAX is an ideal partner to design accessible, clean, fast and flexible interfaces for an infinite number of media and to complement modern SOA architectures.


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Thursday, October 12, 2006
  Sketching Early Stage Designs with AJAX
During the early stage of a product or service I'm often creating designs and mockups to visualize and communicate in an effective way, to define the use-case, to deliver functional specifications or to code with the purpose to
Addressing a user's demand the number of required features, functions, tools and options of today's products and services is huge and in times of AJAX, Flash and Rich Media it becomes even more important to make clients fundamentally understand why they are a good thing. I've written already a number of articles to explain the basics:
The use of AJAX, which has gained a tremendous industry momentum by Google services like GMaps and GMail, provides a new user interaction model delivering highly interactive, desktop-like user experiences.

Building the case, AJAX Web-applications provide enormous advantages compared to conventional Web-applications, they avoid slow response times and scrolling after the page has reloded thus improve end-user productivity, lower bandwidth consumption and costs by partial page updates and reduce the time to wait for the next page.

Applied to eCommerce systems AJAX even increases revenues making new applications easy and intuitive reducing the amount of friction for end-users.

AJAX is based on open standards like JavaScript, HTML, CSS, DOM and DOM Events, XMLHttpRequest, XML and SVG, highly available in most modern Web-browsers and compatible with existing Web development technologies allowing a smooth transition to next generation Web-Interfaces with a strong ROI and requires new ways of thinking and skills, including strategy, creative and technology to help customers, clients, users, audiences and participants to fundamentially understand the advantages.

Light-weight collaboration techniques, user-suggested tags, bottoms-up approach are just a few expressions to name in this context.

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Wednesday, October 04, 2006
  Ruby on Rails with TnT 2.0
The idea that people will pass on and share interesting and entertaining content can create a tremendous awareness of a product or service in the form of funny video clips, or interactive Flash games, images, and even text.

As products and experiences become more complicated or gain new capabilities new technologies, disciplines and the hyper speed of today's platforms require new ways of thinking and skills, including strategy, creative and technology helping customers, users, audiences and participants effectively use or experience these solutions.

TnT 2.0
TnT 2.0 - New Product & Service Development

Using a powerful Model-view-controller (MVC) software architecture applying principles such as 'Don't repeat yourself' (DRY) and 'Convention Over Configuration' Ruby on Rails (RoR) is an excellent hyper productive framework to realize new ideas and help customers, users, audiences and participants effectively use or experience these solutions. Having the Prototype Javascript Framework already in place it's easy to develop and apply usful dynamic visual effects and user interface elements based on AJAX.

An active creator today can enhance brand visibility and credibility, achieve customer intimacy or just simplify the process to find the latest information about new products and services allowing visitors to subscribe to blogs via RSS and be notified when posting something new.

As a passionate application developer it takes one afternoon from initial installation to deploying the first application. Just follow these guidelines:

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Thursday, September 28, 2006
  AJAX Toolkits of course OpenSource
Developing rich user experiences with RIA technologies such as AJAX makes Web-based applications response quickly and intuitive like a typical desktop application. Instead reloading a page after the old click-wait-refresh model the AJAX application stays on a page continuously while the AJAX engine handles data exchange with the server.

Building the case, AJAX Web-applications provide enormous advantages compared to conventional Web-applications, they avoid slow response times and scrolling after the page has reloded thus improve end-user productivity, lower bandwidth consumption and costs by partial page updates and reduce the time to wait for the next page.

Applied to eComerce systems AJAX even increases revenues making new applications easy and intuitive reducing the amount of friction for end-users.

My favorite OpenSource AJAX toolkits include DOJO, PROTOTYPE-based RICO and SCRIPT.ACULO.US, which supports Gucci and Apple Aperture. Another interesting framework represents the upcoming OpenLaszlo project Legals, which is projected to be available by the end of the year 2006.

Ajax toolkits usually provide cross-platform and cross-browser independence, are compatible to existing web development technologies allowing a smooth transition to next generation Web-Apps with a strong ROI.

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Saturday, September 23, 2006
  AJAX Will Transform Web-based Applications Forever
The user trend shifted towards digital media and an online lifestyle with a rapid adoption of broadband that made it possible to move more and more applications to the Web with technologies standing out by an intuitive and natural user interaction reducing the amount of friction for people to communicate, interact with and control personal media online.

The technology behind the recent success of Web-based applications, the use of AJAX provides a new user interaction model delivering highly interactive, desktop-like user experiences called RIA's, Rich Internet Applications. Instead reloading a page the Ajax application stays on a page continuously while the Ajax engine handles data exchange with the server.

AJAX is based on open standards like JavaScript, HTML, CSS, DOM and DOM Events, XMLHttpRequest, XML and SVG, highly available in most modern Web-browsers and compatible with existing Web development technologies allowing a smooth transition to next generation Web-Apps with a strong ROI.

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'The Internet is shifting to a medium that is more and more structured with a decentralized authority.'
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Name: Andreas Engel
Location: Düsseldorf, NRW, Germany

BizDev & Program Management | eCommerce, PMI, ITIL

Previous Posts
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Strategy Evaluaton
Current and Future eCommerce Challenges (HTML)
Spotlight 2.0 (HTML) | (PDF MindMap)
TnT 2.0 (PDF MindMap)